The United States of America has been labelled a “country to watch” by an annual freedom report designed to sound the alarm on declining democracies.
The publication, released Tuesday, listed the US in one of the 10 most volatile countries in the world, warning of “open questions” about its future.
Authors from the Freedom House non-profit think-tank selected the US and wrote extensively on the rise of president Donald Trump.
Freedom in the World 2017: #FreedomReport records 11th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. https://t.co/SERwH1mHAi pic.twitter.com/50studAr1c
— Freedom House (@FreedomHouseDC) January 31, 2017
Its entry reads: “Donald Trump’s unorthodox presidential campaign left open questions about the incoming administration’s approach to civil liberties and the role of the United States in the world.”
Another section noted that he proves the US is “not immune to the kind of populist appeals that have resonated across the Atlantic”.
Other “countries to watch” are Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Zimbabwe and the Philippines.
It currently lists the US as the 28th most free country in the world. Finland won the poll, with Canada in fourth place.
The US was also beaten by the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Uruguay and the former Soviet nations of Estonia and Lithuania.
